Indoor baseball bag



May 4 1965 D. A. NELLERMOE 3,181,863

INDOOR BASEBALL BAG Filed June 2o, 196s Fia. 4.

0 Z INVENTOR.

United States Patent O 3,181,863 INDOOR BASEBALL BAG Donald A. N ellermoe, 311 Morrison Ave., Big Rapids, Mich. Filed June 20, 1963, Ser. No. 289,375 Claims. (Cl. 273-25) This invention relates to sports equipment, and more particularly to an indoor baseball bag and a base bag jacket.

The games of baseball and softball are today only truly effective when played out of doors. Although some schools have indoor softball games in the gymnasium classes, the problem of providing proper bases presents a definite drawback to the eiective playing of the game indoors. If three-dimensional bags of some sort are used, the player can be seriously hurt when he hits the bag at a considerable speed, since the bag will readily slide across the floor. Attempts to anchor the bag seriously damage the door. Consequently, the method often employed to indicate a base is to mark the iioor with paint or the equivalent. However, painted bases are not clearly visible to a runner until he is very close to them.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an indoor baseball bag that is three-dimensional, thereby being clearly visible to a runner, and yet that remains securely in place when the runner hits it. It moreover is not permanently anchored to the iioor to damage the floor.

It is another object of this invention to provide an indoor baseball bag that remains securely in place wherever it is positioned on the floor, without any attachment to the iioor.

It is another object of this invention to provide an indoor baseball bag that can be thrown on the door just prior to game time and can be just as readily picked up immediately after the game. No special efforts must be made to ready it for use or secure it to the floor.

It is another object of this invention to provide a baseball bag jacket capable of receiving a conventional outdoor bag to convert it to an indoor bag. The novel jacket enables the changeover to be made in only a minute or so, and results in a bag that does not slip about on the oor during play. Moreover, the bag is clearly visible to the player and is substantially regulation size. Outdoor bags may be inserted in the jacket and thrown anywhere on the floor to provide a non-slipping, sturdy, indoor base bag. The bags can just as quickly be gathered up, the outdoor bags removed from the jackets, for use outdoors again. Moreover, the bag may be used on any type of indoor floor including wood, concrete, tile, etc.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon studying the following specification in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the completed indoor bag shown in use on a iioor;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the base bag jacket;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the jacket with a conventional outdoor base bag being inserted therein; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional View through the center of the jacket.

The novel indoor bag includes a novel closure jacket 12 containing a conventional indoor bag 14.

The jacket 12 is formed of a washable, exible material, preferably canvas duck, and is generally square in configuration. It has a length, width and thickness slightly larger than the size of a conventional outdoor baseball bag 14, to receive the outdoor bag and provide an indoor bag of substantially regulation size. It includes a relatively large upper surface and lower surface, and a peripheral edge of a couple inches height. These surfaces are preferably formed of separate pieces of canvas duck stitched together at the peripheral upper and lower edges 18 and 20 (FIG. 4).

Along a portion of the peripheral edge, and'normally over the length of one side edge and around the adjacent corners is an opening having a zipper closure means 22. The opening allows reception of the conventional outdoor bag 14 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3, after which the zipper is closed to encase the outdoor bag in position.

The underside of the canvas jacket is provided with a non-slip, high friction layer 24, preferably of a foam rubber material having a series of adjacent spaced protrusions 26 forming a resilient gripping surface area in contact with the Hoor 28 (FIG. 1). The rubber may be reinforced by suitable cloth or similar mesh netting 30. The entire layer 24 is secured to the bottom surface of the jacket by a suitable rubber cement 32 such as an epoxy based material or any other equivalent. Alternatively, the rubber material may be secured by spaced, embedded staples or the equivalent.

In use, a conventional outdoor baseball bag 14 having a canvas covering, an interior padding filler (and perhaps outdoor anchoring straps 15) is bodily inserted through the opening in the edge of jacket 12 as illustrated in FIG. 3. After its insertion, the zipper 22 is closed and the bag is merely tossed on the floor at the position where the base is to be located. No further anchoring is necessary.

Then, when the runner is proceeding towards the bag it is clearly visible to him at all times. Further, it is of regulation size so as to serve as excellent training equipment for ball players during off season months. If the runner hits" the bag with considerable speed, it has been found with repeated usage of the bag in actual college gymnasium classes that the bag will not slip, but rather forms an excellent gripping surface with the iloor when the runners weight is applied to the upper surface. The protrusions merely deform and squash out to grip the oor surface 28.

The bags are readily picked up after the game since they are in no way anchored to the iioor. If the outdoor baseball bags are then to be used for normal outdoor games, zipper 2.2 is unfastened, the outdoor bag 14 is removed and used in conventional fashion. Since the jacket is made of canvas, it may be washed when it becomes soiled.

It will be obvious that certain equivalent materials may be substituted for those described in this preferred form of the invention. Also, certain obvious, minor modifications may be made in the structure of the indoor base bag and converting jacket forming the basis for the inventive concept set forth herein. Consequently, these obvious structural modifications within the inventive principles and concept taught are deemed to be part of this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims and the reasonably equivalent structures to those defined therein.

I claim:

1. A base bag jacket adapted to convert an outdoor baseball bag into an indoor bag comprising: a threedimensional jacket of flexible material; an opening in said jacket to receive an outdoor base bag; and a non-slip, high friction surface on the bottom of said jacket to form a gripping relationship with a oor surface.

2. The jacket in claim 1 wherein said opening includes releasable closure means allowing insertion and removal of said outdoor bag.

3. The jacket in claim 2 wherein said opening is along an edge of said jacket and said closure means is a zipper.

4. An indoor base bag comprising: a jacket of generally square configuration; said jacket having an opening for 3 receiving an outdoor baseball bag, and having a non-slip, rubber type surface on the bottom thereof; and an outdoor baseball bag contained in said jacket.

5. The base bag in claim 4 wherein said opening extends along a peripheral edge portion of said jacket and is closed by releasable closure means to retain said outdoor bag.

4 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,275,547 3/42 Mouch 273-25 5 2,471,736 5/49 Fleming et al 150--52 2,835,492 5/58 La Londe 272-57 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner'. 

1. A BASE BAG JACKET ADAPTED TO CONVERT AN OUTDOOR BASEBALL BAG INTO AN INDOOR BAG COMPRISING: A THREEDIMENSIONAL JACKET OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL; AN OPENING IN SAID JACKET TO RECEIVE AN OUTDOOR BASE BAG; AND A NON-SLIP, HIGH FRICTION SURFACE ON THE BOTTOM OF SAID JACKET TO FORM A GRIPPING RELATIONSHIP WITH A FLOOR SURFACE. 